zellyf
thank you !! I've done enough reading on OBI ( Occult HepB Infection ) today and yes you are right.. i was just worried bcz i came some findings online which mostly suggested there may be an association with something else but today luckily i came across a post by dr. Keefe which kind of explained OBI.
it isnt super worrisome like you said . in fact not more worrying that knowing i have HBV period :-)
OBI when unknown and unmonitored or treated can be fatal but i've got the monitoring and treatment part covered so i shouldnt be worried. if the next test in a couple of week brings back the same results from the one taken in June then i will dicuss my options with my doctor but it would seem as if i am kinda borderline.. recovered - technically - but still have it . an oxymoron.
how beautiful :-)
will post the results on here when i got them along with the previous ones i have taken.
thanks again
I'm not sure that its super worrisome. Its just that the Hep B hides somehow so that it isn't picked up on the surface antigen test...but if you test for HBV DNA you get a count.
"Occult HBV infections are defined as the presence of HBV DNA and the absence of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg encoded by the S gene) in plasma or serum of HBV-infected patients [1]. This infection may persist in individuals for years without emerging symptoms of overt HBV infection."
It isn't necessary to be co-infected with something else to have occult HBV. Its just that you don't tend to find it in the general population b/c they aren't testing for it, right? If you're already being monitored for another condition then they might.
came across a better read online posted in 2006 that explains is better.
still not sure what to think .. it is possible ofcourse and if that is the case then my only hope is that is not assosciated with any other viruses.. i know i can rule out hep A and C. i can also rule out HIV. i've never had a drink in life so i am ruling out alcohol.
it can be that i recovered but V/L persisted.
not sure.. still confused i guess..
will talk to my doctor when he gets the results back.. it took 3 weeks last time for a hep B pofile so i am anticapting a similar wait this time as well.. i will bring it up to the attention of my doctor should the results be the same although this time i am assuming the DNA level will be UND with the help baraclude ..
im confused
the more i read about occult hbv the more confused i got
i know the results from the blood center came back negative for HIV, HEP A & C
also the initial follow up test at my primary came back negative for HIV, HEP A & C
so i dont get you the occult hep B
can you explain more , please
i am gonna wait for the next test to see where i stand but honestly now that i read a little bit about occult hep b, i am worried .. ALOT
this is gonna be some kind of tough week or two til i get my results
Have you read anything about occult Hep b?
yes showing negative to the surgace antigen but initial DNA count carried a load of 3470 copies . not sure if they did another test for DNA . the only thing they wanted to confirm was the surface antigen.
i have to mention that i found out i had this virus after donating blood to the blood center. got a letter from them saying i am postive.
i went to my physician who ran another surface antigen test for hep B and it came positive also. the test only went for surface antigen without going for confirmatory testing or anything else.
then i went the specialist - whom i am currently seeing . he ran tests for everything and what i listed above was the first test results i got and upon these results he decided treatment under the basis - i am thinking - that i was hbeag negative with a count of 3470 which is a number above the 2000 copies average that goes with monitoring rather than treatment.
so i started taking baraclude and 3 months ago i ran an ultra sound and a DNA v/l test. ultra sound came back normal and V/L came back UND.
i think after taking a glance at the report as he was looking over it a few days ago i started asking more questions and i kinda deliberately confused him or kinda wanted him to doubt himself.
in the end he order another hep B profile to see if there is any better or more specific readings.
i dont know.. again, i am not putting any hopes on not having it because quite frankly if it shows an exisiting viral load then i must have it.
only thing is the confirmatory test for the suface antigen that tested postive and negative on confirmatory. twice that is.. report suggested a repeated test in two weeks after that initial profile test but we never really did and went by the DNA count
can i be negative and still show a viral load ? possible ? hmm eh whatever... like i said i coped and think coped well with hep b and learned to lead a better and healthier life style
still would be nice to do away with it if you know what i mean :-)
So it is showing you negative for the surface antigen??
Zellyf
i havnet had a chance to get to my office. been working out of home for the past two days. i will get the two reports scanned and posted on here, maybe that gives a better idea for you to be better read it hopefully :-)
the main thing out of what is posted up top is the following :
HEPATITIS B SURFACE AG ----- REACTIVE
CONFIRMATORY TEST ------------NEGATIVE
SUGGEST REPEATING ANALYSIS IN TWO WEEKS
HEPATITIS B SURFACE AB--------------NON REACTIVE
HEPATITIS B CORE AB IGM --------------- NON REACTIVE
HEPATITIS B VIRUS E ANTIBODIES -------------------POSITIVE
HBV DNA QUANTATATION PCR
Hepatitis B Virus DNA UltraQuant----------- 3470 copies/mL
HBS Ag CONFIRMATION -------------------PENDING
this report was faxed to my doctor's office on July 7th 2008
a week later, on the 14th of july , a letter was sent to my doctor's office again stating everything that was listed except that the last line changed from :
HBS Ag CONFIRMATION ----- PENDING
to:
HBS Ag CONFIRMATION
HEP\HBSACO ---------------------- NEGATIVE
bberry,
I'm having a hard time reading the report.
We all learn as we go and hind sight does not make one smart at all.
The very first strategy from Dr.Keeffe to limit resistance is: use antiviral treatment only as needed.
Maybe another doctor seeing that the only reading of yours requiring concern was the DNA=3470 might have suggested monitoring rather than treatment.
But then nobody can really say who is right and who is wrong.
cajim
well i am not sure if i should feel optimistic or not but that is me back in june . that was my very first hep b profile
doctor decided it was hbeag negative with 3470 v/l count and therefore decided treatment
unfortunately i never picked up a copy of the results for my records. at the time this whole thing was new to me and i didnt know much about hep B.
you can say i was tryimng to hang on any glimse of hope and treatment at the time sounded as a good option.
in october the doctor order a DNA count and it came back UND.
yesterday i saw my doctor again and he was looking over my history since i started and i happened to be looking at his computer screen as he was looking over my record and noticed the lines that caught my attention so i spent a good half hour or more discussing every signle line of the test with him . he insisted i was a carrier and i didnt disagree since the count was 3470 which was clear on the test results but the confirmatory results is something i felt confusing.
if i have a dna count then i am a carrier , easy math !!
in the end he order another complete hep B profile and DNA count to see where i stand.
still confused a bit..
but i am not gonna hang on to any hopes at this time..i learned to live with my condition and frankly i've never felt any healthier with a better life style i lead right now after i've learned i had it. would be nice to do away with it but these results just brought me to wonder, thats all..
any thoughts ?
My friend, nobody is a guru here. We all learn and learn from each other. I think what you are describing is a case of improvement, some go on to clearing, others stay borderline like you described.